The 1938 Dress: Making the skirt

On we go, today, we are making and adding the skirt!

This is not a real tutorial post, but I wanted to show you how this pattern works. I find it quite interesting, as there is a bunch of gathering right in the center front of the skirt, which adds nice width, while keeping the silhouette narrow from front and back. I actually sewed a vintage pattern with this kind of skirt before, but I altered it back then, because I couldn't imagine that this bunching up right between my legs would work out... :-) This time, I went for it, and I like the result!

Me-Made-Mittwoch #16 - Recycling!

Deutsch: Grau

English: Green

Die Idee und Organisation des Me-Made-Mittwoch stammt von Catherine von Cat-und-Kascha, und Neueinsteigerinnen sind jederzeit willkommen! Einfach auf ihrem schönen Blog den Button abholen und Euren Link hinzufügen bei Mister Linky auf ihrer Seite.
Diese Woche seht ihr HIER, was die anderen Teilnehmerinnen heute Schönes tragen.

"Mittwoch" is German for Wednesday, so the participants wear a self-made garment or accessory every Wednesday. Catherine from Cat-und-Kascha is organizing it and you are welcome to join us anytime! Just go over to her blog to grab the button and add your link at Mister Linky on her site!

HERE you see the outfits from this weeks participants.

Heute präsentiere ich mal etwas ganz Neues, den Rock habe ich gestern fertig gestellt! Kaum zu glauben, letzten Mittwoch war ich nicht dabei, aber vor zwei Wochen habe ich noch ein Sommerkleid angezogen. Nun ist es definitiv Herbst, und mein erstes Herbst-Stück tatsächlich schon genäht!

Today I am presenting a skirt I only just finished yesterday. It's hard to believe that two weeks ago I showed a summer skirt. I had to skip last week, and now it is definitely fall already. I am proud that I actually sewed a first fall piece already, right in time with the season!

My 10 Piece Travel Set: 9 down, 1 to go!

Wow, I am actually getting closer! These are my pieces number 8 and 9 for my ten piece fall/winter/spring travel set! I have already presented them on my dress form in the last post, but here they come, modeled by me:

I have already presented the skirt, too, with a full how-to/tutorial HERE, in case you are interested. It features half-circle pockets and a visible zip in the back:

But my biggest pride at the moment is this shirt:

Circle Pocket Skirt Tutorial/Pattern/How-To

Welcome to my skirt tutorial!

Here is a HOW-TO for this cute skirt with half-circle pockets:

It features a visible zipper in the back and satin tape finishings:

You will be surprised how simple it is to make this skirt. You can use your own measurements very easily and have a tailored fit - it is well worth the little bit of calculation needed...
However, I also included my measurements for you to have a reference. I wear a European size 34 or 36, a Small, usually.
If there are any questions, please feel free to let me know! I am still learning the art of writing tutorials without too many, yet just enough words!

Me-Made-Mittwoch #10!

Here is one of my "Classics". The blouse and skirt are both from a travel set from 1953. You can read a little more about it HERE on this blog, or a little more about it in my BurdaStyle studio HERE. They are both made of fancy silk fabrics and a treat to wear. The pattern for the sunhat comes from the June 2009 issue of ANNA. As much as I have fallen in love with hats, I'm not sure I will wear it today. I like the shape, but not the fabric I used. It is too "country-side" for the city :-) I think I will make it again in about a dozen solid colors though.
I took the picture yesterday evening, and yes, of course I ironed the skirt today before putting it on...

Cat-and-Kascha came up with this idea, and you can join us anytime!
And if you want to see the other me-made-Mittwoch outfits (Mittwoch = Wednesday), click HERE.
Have a lovely Wednesday everyone! I will be terribly busy again, but I am looking forward to visiting your blogposts this evening!

My 10 Piece Winter Travel Set: 7 down, 3 to go!

Oh people, I am excited - my ten piece winter set is slowly but surely coming together. I can already combine a few pieces differently and come up with several outfits!
UPDATE: I posted a full tutorial for this blouse HERE.
Here are my pieces number six and seven:

 A dotted blouse and black shorts. The blouse pattern is made by me - I will share a little how-to on this blog hopefully by the end of this week! - and the shorts are actually the Karl Lagerfeld skirt from BWO 10/2010, turned into shorts.
If you want to look at a few more pictures and get some details, click on the little "read more" button right underneath...

Me-Made-Mittwoch #7!

This post is a little bit later in the day than usually, because I had to actually sew a little underskirt this morning to be able to present this knitted skirt... This is why I love me-made-Wednesdays. Not only do I have to find new combinations (I try to wear more than one me-made piece), but it makes me actually wear some of the things that have been lying in the closet...

I called the blouse the forgetful-seamstress' blouse in my BurdaStyle studio, (click the link for details) because if I had remembered how difficult whimsy fabrics are to sew, I would have never made this blouse...
I also admit that I would not knit this skirt again, it took FOREVER.
And another confession: I will probably wear those way-less-cool shoes that you see on the floor next to me when I go out for a meeting this afternoon. As much as I love them, I find the ones in the picture too "party"...

A little update: This combination didn't pass the MMM-fashion-police! :-) So maybe finding new combinations should be done with a little more thought... I have to smilingly admit - I felt much better after putting on a regular pair of jeans before leaving the house. But there is this saying: "Wer wagt, gewinnt" (roughly: "you can only win if you try") - maybe next time?

Here is the link to the other Wednesday-outfits! Anyone want to join the fun? Cat-und-Kascha is the one organizing it. Thanks Catherine!

So this is what I actually showed in public... Only a me-made-blouse...

So besser?

Versus this original outfit...

Me-Made-Mittwoch #6!

Last week I promised I'd be wearing a skirt today... Well, THINK before you make online-promises! This really would have been a pants day, with the chance of rain here in Vienna. But I am using the opportunity to introduce to you one of my early pieces again. It was my own idea, "design" and I had to figure out construction and everything on my own. I was not a very accomplished seamstress back then, which is annoying, because while I actually love the skirt, the execution is so poor, that I don't consider it really wearable any more... But since it's mostly a stay-at-home-day today, voilà!

It is made up of ties entirely, most of them old silk ties. I'll tell you more about it further down the post...

The little Bolero thingy is knit by me, too, of course. I think I found the pattern online, but I don't know where from the top of my head... If you REALLY, REALLY must know where I got it, I could spend some time to find it again. :-)

Sorry about the fake smile. It's that kind of day...

For close-ups and a little more information about the tie-skirt, read on...

Me-Made-Mittwoch #3!

Since weeks I say I'll re-organize my closet TOMORROW, which is why I just throw things in wildly. For the first time now, I actually couldn't find a skirt I was looking for. Which is why I ended up with a combination I wouldn't usually have tried. Somehow it works. Let's call it the refashioned menswear look. Or whatever.
For new English speaking visitors: Mittwoch means Wednesday. Every Wednesday, the participants wear self-made clothes. Here are the other outfits!
And here is Cat-und-Kascha who came up with this great idea.

The top is part of my 10 piece winter travel set, I called it a Shirt-T, because it is a long-sleeve T-Shirt with a refashioned mens shirt (collar and cuffs) blogged about here, and the skirt was originally a pencil skirt so tight at the hem that I couldn't board one of those old fashioned cable cars we still have here in Vienna. I used the small part of a tie as belt, and the wide part - well, you can see that yourself. :-)